The present invention relates to a coffeemaker adapted to prepare a hot beverage starting from a percolation or infusion product, loose, or in bulk, or contained in a prefabricated sachet, or packet, or pod, such as ground coffee, tea, chocolate or a soluble powder of coffee, milk, and/or chocolate. The invention concerns more particularly such a machine having several infusion or percolation heads that can function simultaneously or individually.
An appliance for the preparation and distribution of hot beverages generally comprises a cold water reservoir, an electric pump, an assembly forming a boiler, or water heater, and an infusion head that receives a filter holder containing the ground coffee, or other ground or powdered product, or that directly receives prefabricated sachets, packets, or other measures quantities of the product. The infusion head supplies hot water coming from the boiler, and the resulting beverage is then directed toward a collecting receptacle.
There is known in the art, particularly as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,297, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, a professional coffee maker adapted to prepare beverages of the espresso, cappuccino, or tea type by delivering hot water or steam toward several infusion heads. This machine comprises in particular a boiler supplied with water by a pump through a feed conduit to produce hot water or steam that flows via ducts, or nozzles, provided for this purpose. The machine also comprises several percolation devices whose hydraulic circuits are disposed in parallel on the cold water feed line for the machine. Each percolation device comprise its own pump, flow meter, and instantaneous heating element and a solenoid valve. The percolation heads are connected electrically to a common control unit. Due to the fact that it is provided with its own means for distribution of the desired quantity of water coming from a common water feed conduit, such a machine is able to furnish an accurately measured beverage for each percolation head, but at the price of considerable structural complexity, large size and high fabrication cost.